Pavlova, Anna (1881–1931)

Russian dancer. Prima ballerina of the Imperial Ballet from 1906, she left Russia in 1913, and went on to become one of the world's most celebrated exponents of classical ballet. With London as her home, she toured extensively with her own company, influencing dancers worldwide with roles such as Mikhail Fokine's The Dying Swan solo (1907). She was opposed to the modern reforms of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, adhering strictly to conservative aesthetics.